I don't know if i like the response so i thought about it a while. What do you think?

TORI'S POV – FALLING INTO THE FIRE

I wasn't sleepwalking.

Let's get that lie out of the way.

I was wide awake. Bone-deep restless. Heart squeezed so tight it felt like it might crack open with one more second of space between us.

Jade was on the couch, and every breath she took felt like a challenge.

I slipped from the bed like a coward with an agenda. Quiet. Careful. The creak of the hardwood floor sounded like a scream in the silence, but I didn't stop.

She jumped when I touched stung.

I wonder if she knows I live for that split-second where she doesn't know whether to fight me or forgive me.

I wrapped myself around her like nothing was broken.

Like I hadn't shattered everything with one stupid, impulsive kiss.

Her body stiffened. Just like it did that night. Only that time, it was emotional. Cold. Final.

She didn't yell. Didn't throw things. She just... packed.

She never gave me a second chance. Maybe she was right not to.

But the worst part? I told her. I came home the minute it happened. With tears in my throat and guilt boiling under my skin. Told her everything before I could even wash the scent of someone else's lip balm off my mouth.

It wasn't sex. It wasn't even passion. It was a moment of revenge. I was angry. Furious. She had humiliated me in front of a whole crew of strangers and then acted like I was the villain for trying to do something...anything...for myself.

And maybe I was.

I kissed that girl out of spite. Out of pain. Out of ego.

And Jade? Jade didn't scream. Didn't hit me. She just looked at me like I'd killed something sacred.

And then she left.

I'd never hated myself more.

So yeah, I'm curled up next to her now, hoping she doesn't shove me away. Praying she lets me pretend...for one night...that I'm not the girl who broke the only good thing I ever had.

Her body was still beneath mine. And I felt it. That weight. The stillness. Like she was holding her breath, waiting for something from me. Her eyes were open, watching me, searching...looking for whatever piece of me I might still have left to offer.

I reached out before I even thought about it, brushing my thumb over the tear that had slipped down her cheek. She probably didn't even realize it was there, but the sight of it made something inside me crack. I wiped it away, hoping to erase everything in one small gesture.

Her skin was warm, her pulse steady beneath my fingers, but her whole body was a wall. I was too close. Too much, too fast. But I couldn't stop. Not when I knew how much I needed this, how much she needed this.

I leaned in. Just a little. Just enough to test it. And then I kissed her.

It was soft, hesitant, like I wasn't sure if she'd push me away. But then... she kissed me back. At first, it was unsure, like she wasn't sure what the hell she was doing. But then, just for a second, her hands moved...like she was trying to pull me closer.

I felt it. She felt it. For that one second, it was real.

But then, just like that, she pushed me away.

I was shocked. Not because I wasn't expecting it, but because of how hard it was. The force she used, like she was holding back something... something that was ready to explode.

"What the hell are you doing, Vega?" Jade growled, her voice thick with frustration. Her chest was rising and falling fast, her breath short. She didn't look scared, though. She looked angry.

Her eyes were burning, sharp. But they weren't scared. No, they were something else. Something dangerous.

"You don't get to just walk in here and kiss me and think everything's fine," she spat, voice low and steady, like she was keeping herself together by a thread. "You don't get to fix this with a stupid kiss."

The weight of her words hit me hard. For a second, I wanted to disappear. To take back the kiss. To vanish and pretend I never did any of this. But I couldn't.

"I'm not just pretending, Jade," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. "I've never stopped thinking about you. About us."

Her eyes softened for just a second...like she wanted to believe me, like she was almost ready to let go of everything. But then she closed off, hard, shutting it down like it had never happened. "Doesn't matter."

It hurt more than I thought it would. I knew she wasn't trying to hurt me, but it still felt like a punch to the gut. She wasn't ready. Not yet.

But I wasn't going anywhere. Not this time.

Her gaze held mine, steady and unwavering. "Then stop fucking with me, Tori."

I swallowed, nodding. I wanted to say something...anything...to make her see I was serious, but the words wouldn't come. Not yet. Not when she was this angry.

So for now, I'd just stay here. Wait for her to let me back in. No rush. No more stupid moves.

I'd fix it. But on her terms.